Unwanted gift card? How to sell it or get paid £3 to 'swap' it for another store's

The website allows sellers to sell their unwanted gift cards, and e-vouchers from hundreds of retailer, usually at 2 per cent-25 per cent off.

Martin, from MoneySavingExpert.com said: "The discounts are not as high as they are through out the year, but what you want to do is, if you know you are going to buy something from a particular shop, buy a gift card at a discounted price, then this will work with all the other discounts and codes in store."

That will mean you are effectively giving yourself a discount before you even step into the shop.

Although, when it comes to buying a present for someone, Martin advises against buying gift cards, encouraging people to instead give cash of the same value.

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Find the best day to bag deals for your shop

Don't worry, your google-search abilities might not be off, it may just be the day of the week you are looking.

Try waiting until Tuesday or Wednesday, as this seems to be when may retailers put out new discount codes.

The logic behind this isn't clear, but it is a great little tip.

Special offer run out? Get a rain check voucher

Okay, so we must admit we did not know about this one.

The website post from Martin Lewis says: "If a special offer item is out of stock, Asda staff are allowed to give out 'Spark Vouchers' (previously called 'Smiley Vouchers') worth up to £1, when a customer's had a problem or something isn't quite right.

"One of these reasons is that a special offer product's out of stock.

"Again, vouchers are at shop assistants' discretion, so a friendly smile goes a long way.

"You can spend the vouchers on anything at Asda except tobacco, alcohol and lottery tickets."

Some 'designer' clothes are manufactured specifically for outlets

You might assume outlets sell last season's stock, but some garments have never graced the rack of a posh boutique.

A Channel 4 Dispatches investigation in 2013 revealed some clothing at TK Maxx and other outlets were made specifically for outlets.

The investigation also found many items in TK Maxx were actually own-brand products – using a multitude of names such as like Arabella and Addison, Kenar, Amaryllis Amphora and Frederik Anderson of Copenhagen.

Speaking at the time of the investigation, TK Maxx said: "We take great issue with the characterisation of TK Maxx by Dispatches in December 2013, as integrity is at the heart of our business.

"The vast majority of products we sell are brand name merchandise sold at a significant discount to the high street price.

"A small fraction of the products we sell are in-house labels to supplement our offerings."